5/24/2018 10:29 AM PDT

Donald Trump announced he was posthumously pardoning the first black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson on Thursday ... and it seems a lot of credit goes to Sylvester Stallone!!

Johnson was convicted more than 100 years ago of violating the Mann Act by transporting a white woman across state lines.

The conviction, largely seen as racist and an abuse of the legal system, has been urged by many in the boxing community to be pardoned for years.

But, per POTUS, it was Rocky himself who swayed him to make the full pardon, tweeting back in April:

"Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!"

On Thursday, Trump made that happen.

And just a few minutes ago, Sly and boxing studs Lennox Lewis and Deontay Wilder celebrated the move with a punchy photo op in Washington D.C.

Plus, cops say they found the key to the vehicle in Terrance's pocket when they searched him.

Terrance later released a statement saying he did NOT hit a light pole -- and only crashed after swerving to avoid a driver in front of him who had slammed on the brakes. Williams didn't say what he hit, only saying he hopped the curb.

But, the photos show the Lambo right next to a downed light pole ... with obvious damage to the front left side of the car.

5/24/2018 6:29 AM PDT

Common says the new NFL anthem policy is robbing players of their freedom of speech -- and that's not what this country is supposed to be about.

"I just think ... telling people what they should do during a ceremony is not really what the country is based on," Common told us while out in Bev Hills.

"Freedom of speech, freedom to be who you are ... This country is supposed to be about us being independent and being able to be who we are. Especially in a ceremony where people aren't trying to disrespect anything."

5/24/2018 12:20 AM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

TMZ Sports obtained video showingRichie Incognito being detained outside of a gym in Boca Raton, Florida ... and you can clearly see police handcuffed the NFL star before taking him away.

We broke the story ... cops were called to Life Time Gym early Wednesday morning after he allegedly threw a dumbbell at another gym patron. He was taken into custody and placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold.

Sources tell us ... Incognito had been acting bizarrely at the gym the previous day -- but his behavior hadn't turned violent.

We spoke with several people close to Incognito who tell us they've been concerned about the NFL lineman for months ... and have been trying to help him -- to no avail.

5/23/2018 6:47 PM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

He's heeeeeere!!

Wayne Rooney -- one of the most famous soccer players on the planet -- has touched down in Washington D.C. to discuss an MLS contract with D.C. United.

The 32-year-old British superstar -- who currently plays for Everton -- didn't say much when he landed at Reagan Airport on Wednesday ... but people are expecting him make a lot of noise if he does get a deal done.

Rooney's reportedly very close to signing on the dotted line -- with the Washington Post reporting he's already begun house hunting.

5/23/2018 4:16 PM PDT

﻿A judge has officially dropped the felony domestic violence case against 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster after his ex-girlfriend told the court she lied about a violent attack back in February.

Foster was arrested on Feb. 11 after officials say he punched the woman in the face 8 to 10 times causing serious injuries including a ruptured eardrum.

But, the woman completely changed her story when she testified in court last month ... claiming she made the whole thing up because he was going to dump her and she was pissed.

"I wanted him to go down," she told the court.

Foster appeared in a Santa Clara County courtroom on Wednesday when the judge announced the domestic violence case would be dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Foster was also facing a felony gun charge for possession of an assault weapon -- since officials say they found a SIG Sauer 516 with a high-capacity magazine during the search of Foster's home -- but that charge was reduced to a misdemeanor.

While Foster appears to be good to return to the football field ... he still has another court date to worry about stemming from his January weed arrest in Alabama. He'll be back in court for that on June 20.

5/23/2018 3:54 PM PDT

The Milwaukee Bucks are blasting the Milwaukee Police Dept. over the "shameful and inexcusable" way cops abused Sterling Brown ... and they're demanding accountability.

"The abuse and intimidation that Sterling experienced at the hands of Milwaukee Police was shameful and inexcusable."

"Sterling has our full support as he shares his story and takes action to provide accountability."

The team continued ... "Unfortunately, this isn't an isolated case. It shouldn’t require an incident involving a professional athlete to draw attention to the fact that vulnerable people in our communities have experienced similar, and even worse, treatment."

"Racial biases and abuses of power must not be ignored. There needs to be more accountability."

The statement concluded ... "As an organization, we will support Sterling and build on our work with local leaders and organizations to foster safe neighborhoods and better our community."

5/23/2018 3:22 PM PDT

New police video shows Milwaukee Bucks player Sterling Brown being tased by aggressive cops during a ridiculous confrontation stemming from a parking violation.

It all went down around 2 AM on January 26 in Milwaukee when cops responded to a report of a car parked across 2 handicap spaces in an empty Walgreen's parking lot.

The cop on scene aggressively confronts Brown and begins to question him about the parking job.

Brown remains calm throughout the ordeal -- but the police officer continues to escalate the situation ... seemingly unnecessarily ... until several more cops arrive.

At one point, the cops order Brown to take his hands out of his pockets but Brown responds, "I got stuff in my hands."

At that point, cops swarm Brown from all sides and wrestle him to the ground.

A few seconds later, you hear an officer yell for the taser and Brown gets shocked.

You can hear Brown moaning in pain.

Sterling has said he did NOTHING to warrant cops using the taser and claimed the video would exonerate him.

Brown has issued a statement saying, "My experience in January with the Milwaukee Police Department was wrong and shouldn’t happen to anybody."

"What should have been a simple parking ticket turned into an attempt at police intimidation, followed by the unlawful use of physical force, including being handcuffed and tased, and then unlawfully booked."

"This experience with the Milwaukee Police Department has forced me to stand up and tell my story so that I can help prevent these injustices from happening in the future."

The mayor of Milwaukee, Tom Barrett, said he was concerned that there could be a public backlash over the incident.

5/23/2018 2:32 PM PDT

Breaking News

Malcolm Jenkins says he will not let the NFL's new national anthem policy "silence me or stop me from fighting" ... saying the owners are "[thwarting] the players' constitutional rights."

The Philadelphia Eagles star never took a knee during the anthem -- but did raise his fist -- and has been very outspoken about players like Colin Kaepernick having the right to protest if they so choose.

So, when the NFL announced the new anthem policy on Wednesday -- requiring players on the field to stand -- Jenkins sounded off.

"What NFL owners did today was thwart the players' constitutional rights to express themselves and use our platform to draw attention to social injustices like racial inequality in our country," Jenkins says.

"Everyone loses when voices get stifled."

"While I disagree with this decision, I will not let it silence me or stop me from fighting."

"The national conversation around race in America that NFL players forced over the past 2 years will persist as we continue to use our voices, our time and our money to create a more fair and just criminal justice system, end police brutality and foster better educational and economic opportunities for communities of color and those struggling in this country."

"For me, this has never been about taking a knee, raising a fist or anyone's patriotism but doing what we can to effect real change for real people. #thefightcontinues."

5/23/2018 1:45 PM PDT

The UFC star's chest has been the topic of some Internet debate recently ... even Michael Bisping weighed in on the issue on a podcast.

Now, Paige wants to set the record straight once and for all ... telling us, "Yep, I did get a boob job."

She continued, "I'm a girl and always wanted my own boobs. They never came so I bought them."

So, how will the new additions affect her day job? They really shouldn't ...

However, there was a fighter, Pearl Gonzalez, who was temporarily stopped from competing in New York in 2017 because of breast implants ... but the NY State Athletic Commission later cleared her to fight.